Organic farming: irregular growth pattern in the USA

Organic farming has kept growing steadily in the last few years, reaching $6.2 billion in sales value of certified organic products in 2015, which is 13% higher than the previous year, explains The Union of Concerned Scientists. Although the USA currently accounts for a huge total of 12,818 organic certified farms, they are unevenly spread across the country.

Earlier in September a report from the USDA, the Department of Agriculture, revealed its survey data on the state-by-state situation regarding organic sales. Interestingly enough, the biggest sales of organic products are on the west coast, with the state of California ranking number one. It has achieved $2.4 billion in product sales and accounts for 2,637 registered organic farms. Therefore, California is far ahead of second place, with Washington being the next closest at 626 $ million gross. In the west, Oregon has also proved to be active in organic farming coming in fourth place (269 $ million). Other leading states are concentrated on the north-east coast with states such as New York (221 $ million), Pennsylvania (332 $ million), Vermont and Maine. States that don’t do so well are mostly located in the south east, which includes South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Nowadays the demand for organic products overwhelms the supply, which should be a sign for politicians and farmers to encourage organic farming in their state.